The Best Chocolatiers of Berlin

The Best Chocolatiers of Berlin

Whether as nourishment for your nerves, a mood-lifter or a loving gift – chocolate is a special indulgence for every occasion. Us Germans truly love chocolate among all the other sweets the most. Per person, we eat about 9 kilos of chocolate each year – preferably full milk! For the sweet-toothed among our readers, we put together a great selection of the best chocolate makers and shops located in Berlin. I hope you have a piece of chocolate near you because, after this, you might be tempted to go out and get your sweet on!

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Get the Most Awesome Looking Christmas Presents this Year at Bikini Berlin

Get the Most Awesome Looking Christmas Presents this Year at Bikini Berlin

[Sponsored] 

I am a huge fan of creatively wrapped Christmas presents as I have previously proven with our Christmas wrapping guide. Of course, I was super excited to hear about the new Christmas special by Bikini Berlin that is all about artfully decorated presents. Following their tradition of previous seasons, they have once again installed a beautiful big wrapping station in the middle of the concept shopping mall where you can have your presents wrapped or get crafty and wrap them yourselves.

But it wouldn’t be Bikini Berlin if this would be some ordinary type of wrapping station. Once again they invited a local artist to not only design the special edition wrapping papers but also create an entire photo set that transforms the designs from the papers into a big colorful world to step into and take pictures in.

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The Fashion Council Germany Presents Innovative Fashion at Bikini Berlin

The Fashion Council Germany Presents Innovative Fashion at Bikini Berlin

Sponsored

If you feel tempted to always buy fashion at the same stores and are a little stuck in your day-to-day wardrobe the Fashion Council Germany and Bikini Berlin have your back providing you with updated and relevant fashion news just when you need it most. After their successful Pop-Up Shop at Bikini Berlin in June, they are bringing on another pop-up event in order to foster designer talents and offer them a platform to showcase their latest designs and present their labels. Hosted once more at Bikini Berlin’s rooftop terrace this week from Wednesday to Sunday, featuring cool drinks and interesting talks with the designers themselves.

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Berlin’s Coolest Stores for Sunglasses & Eyewear

Berlin’s Coolest Stores for Sunglasses & Eyewear

Mykita

Nobody wants to need them but everybody likes to wear them. Glasses are possibly the most iconic accessory we can wear because eyes are everything. They can be seductive, inquisitive, friendly, stunning, hypnotic, and as they say, they are the mirrors of the soul. In fashion and film history glasses have been the protagonists of hundreds of emblematic shots. Nowadays glasses can be just another fashion accessory or essential pieces of art that represent our personalities.  It’s no wonder that choosing the right piece to frame your eyes is not an easy task. To help you find those amazing glasses that fit you like a glove we have gathered brands that create the most stunning design glasses in Berlin.

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A Guide to the Portuguese Community in Berlin

A Guide to the Portuguese Community in Berlin

Berlin wouldn’t be the melting pot brimming with inspiration that we love if it wasn’t for the international influences from expats that never cease to shape the city with their artistic vision. The time has come to highlight the creative masterminds in the Portuguese community in Berlin. Get ready to meet a diverse crew of uninhibited artists – photographers, writers, digital illustrators, musicians – who aren’t afraid to experiment and venture beyond the conventions. By the way, we’ve asked around and got the top recommendations on where to get Portuguese wine and their famous Pastel de Nata – make sure you scroll to the bottom!

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Exploring Kreuzberg: A Guide to Graefekiez

Exploring Kreuzberg: A Guide to Graefekiez

photos: Amanda Artiaga

When you make your way from Kottbusser Tor down to Hermannplatz, you’ll get Kreuzberg as you imagine it to be: Loud, busy, weird and colorful. You pass Doenershops, Spaetis, and stores that sell so many cheap and unnecessary things you start questioning what they actually make their money with. If you walk straight down Kottbusser Damm, you wouldn’t necessarily guess that one of Kreuzberg’s most beautiful “Kieze” is just to your right. But as usual in Berlin, you can just turn around one corner and the whole scenery turns upside down.

The Graefekiez won’t be your new go-to hotspot for activities after nightfall, due to strict noise regulations after 22h in this neighborhood. However, all its lovely cafes, delicious restaurants, cute little shops and streets where one beautiful old building stands next to the other, make Graefekiez the perfect destination for a relaxed ‘lil Saturday or Sunday afternoon excursion. We picked a few spots that you should definitely check out.

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A Guide to Schöneberg’s Beautiful Akazienkiez

A Guide to Schöneberg’s Beautiful Akazienkiez

Schöneberg, Schöneberg…? Surely, some people who aren’t yet familiar with the city won’t know that Schöneberg is one of Berlin’s neighborhoods because that’s exactly what happened to me. For decades Schöneberg was the epicenter of Berlin’s creative underground, but today you will find Berlin’s interesting, cool, and artsy vibe in most of the Eastern neighborhoods. This unique atmosphere that makes people from all over the globe want to move to the German capital. That way some neighborhoods like Kreuzberg have kept their cool and edgy reputation over the years. But, as you can already imagine, there’s much more than meets the eye in Berlin’s west, especially in Schöneberg. Yes, if you are new in town Schöneberg is still worth a visit and we are going to explore some of its curious locations and little wonders.

FYI: Because Schöneberg is quite an extense neighborhood, I have focused on a specific area which it’s the Akazienkiez and places near The Red Island. In a map, you can see a distinctive triangle-shaped area of Schöneberg bordered by railway lines S1, U7 and the Ringbahn of Berlin. It was called like that due to the left-wing supporters that lived in that specific neighborhood.

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Sustainable Berlin: Amazing Zero Food Waste Projects for a Better Future

Sustainable Berlin: Amazing Zero Food Waste Projects for a Better Future

photo: Elaine Casap

Old habits die hard. Not that this is an excuse for avoiding change, but… they just do. When you, like most of us, grew up in this affluent society of ours, you are used to groceries always being available to you. That yoghurt in the back of the fridge, that you forgot when you went away for a few days… oh well, sheepishly throw it away, you can get a new one today. That take away food, that you didn’t end up eating in the end – bye, there’s the bin. Again, you bought 10 eggs and ended up eating 3? If you are recognizing yourself right now, this article is for you!

There is that indifference, in all of us. But if global food waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases next to China and the USA. Unshaped fruit and vegetables, overproduced goods, portions at restaurants that are too large or expired groceries that are still fine to consume – all of it ends up in the bin, even though it is still perfectly fine to eat. Food waste is on of our biggest problems today and the fight against it should become habitual. This is why we are giving a shoutout to these awesome Berlin-based food projects that are taking a stand against it.

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Unique Industrial Design & Furniture at Urban Industrial

Unique Industrial Design & Furniture at Urban Industrial

The combination of wood and metal makes your heart race, you wish that steam punk had actually been a time period and “vintage” truly is your second forename? Let us hook you up with the Mekka of industrial furniture at the one and only “Urban Industrial”, the holy hall for everything antique, unique and extremely stylish.

The brand was born out of founder Jakob Wagner’s strong passion and unmistakable talent for collecting vintage furniture from shut down factories, skillfully refurbishing them and putting them up in his store for you to fall in love with. What used to be a ballroom opposite Volkspark Hasenheide at Hermannplatz now spectacularly serves as their showroom. Upon entering it impresses you with its large space, remarkably high ceilings and grungy looking walls. With the atmosphere truly mirroring the industrial style, making a visit resembles an experience rather than just a shopping trip.

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The Best Concept Stores in Berlin

The Best Concept Stores in Berlin

Berlin is this hilarious place where a tacky discounter with a hot Angebot for plastic flip-flops can sometimes be located literally a few steps away from a concept store. This divergence is definitely among top 5 characteristics of this fabulous city – the city that inspires all different kinds of creative thinkers – many brilliant designers among them!

For our new shopping guide we have focussed on those stores with a especially contemporary concept that combines cutting-edge fashion with other products such as interior design, accessories, beauty products and more. Enjoy our selection of concept stores below!

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